This invention pertains to inkjet ink formulations having increased lightfastness, and, more particularly, to the addition of divalent metal ions to inks to improve lightfastness.
Various fixers may be printed on top of inks to increase physical durability of the printed dye on a medium. While these fixers increase the waterfastness and smudgefastness of the inks, they may decrease their lightfastness, resulting in accelerated fading. While lightfastness may be improved by changing the ink formulation, there might be severe compromises for other properties such as color gamut and pen nozzle health. Alternatively, the fixer formulations may be modified. Typical fixers rely on cationic polymers such as poly(ethylene imine) (PEI), but these polymers may not improve lightfastness while maintaining printing reliability of the fixer and physical stability of the printed ink. Thus, it is desirable to have a method of reducing the negative impact of fixer formulations on lightfastness while maintaining their other desirable properties.
In one aspect, the invention is an additive for a fixer formulation for inkjet printing. The additive is a metal salt, and the fixer formulation should include a positively charged polymer. The metal salt may include a divalent metal ion, such as Cu, Co, Ni, Ti, Pt, Pd, Cd, V, Cr, Hg, or Mn. The salt may also include an anion such as Clxe2x88x92, Brxe2x88x92, SO42xe2x88x92, CH3CO2xe2x88x92, PO43xe2x88x92, or NO3xe2x88x92. The metal salt may be a hydrate, and the positively charged polymer may comprise a quaternary nitrogen atom or a nitrogen atom that has been rendered cationic through protonation. Appropriate polymers include poly(ethylene imine) or methylated poly(ethylene imine).
The invention improves the lightfastness of printed inks by adding a metal ion such as divalent copper to a fixer for an inkjet printer. In a typical inkjet printer, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks are printed on a medium in a predetermined pattern. A fixer is printed over or under the inks to immobilize them. A positively charged polymer such as PEI or methylated PEI in the fixer immobilizes the negatively charged dye in the ink through electrostatic interactions. Other polymers with quaternary nitrogen atoms or that have nitrogen atoms that can be rendered cationic are also employed to immobilize the dye. However, other chemical interactions between the positively charged nitrogen and the dyes may cause the colorant to fade. Addition of a metal to the fixer may improve the lightfastness of the dye-fixer complex while allowing the electrostatic interactions that increase waterfastness and minimizing other, detrimental, chemical reactions.
In addition to copper, other cations may be employed as well. For example, Co2+, Ni2+, Ti2+, Pt2+, Pd2+, Cd2+, Mn2+, V2+, Cr2+, and Hg2+ may be added to the fixer. Any anion derived from a strong acid may be employed as a counter-ion for the metal, which is added to the fixer as a salt. Exemplary counter-ions include but are not limited to Clxe2x88x92, Brxe2x88x92, SO42xe2x88x92, CH3CO2xe2x88x92, PO43xe2x88x92, and NO3xe2x88x92. The fixer itself should have a pH between 4 and 9.